Women are sitting on a small fortune in unwanted clothing, shoes and accessories, which could be cashed in via the second hand economy.

Australian women are still putting more money in their wardrobes than they are in a bank savings account.

That’s according to Gumtree’s 2018 Second Hand Economy Report which found that 72 per cent of women are holding onto unwanted clothing, shoes and accessories that could be earning them the national average of $4,200 in the bank.

The report, undertaken by YouGov Galaxy and based on a survey of 1000 people, also found that 53 per cent of women have made money by selling their unwanted clothing, shoes and accessories in the past year via the second hand economy.

That leaves a healthy 47 per cent of us who could be cashing in our on wardrobes.

Frankly, there’s not a lot in my wardrobe that would be worth much in the second hand economy, and I do tend to give my goods away to charity when the time comes.

That said, it could be that I am undervaluing the power of sites like Gumtree and the appeal of $10 – $30 second-hand items.

Emily Kate Symes who is the founder of Australia’s first ever zero-waste boutique, EKOLUV says the average woman buys 27 kilograms of clothing every year and throws away 23 kilograms.

By taking advantage of Gumtree and the second hand economy, Emily has saved over $10,000 by buying everything second hand and upcycling unwanted items that would have otherwise gone to landfill.

As a former model, Emily experienced the extraordinary amount of excess waste in the fashion industry which sparked the idea to create a sustainable fashion boutique and her passion to draw awareness to the growing issue of ethics and waste within the industry.

In the past year, women who sold second hand items made $982 on average from Australia’s second hand economy, an industry worth $34 billion.

Second hand clothing, shoes and accessories are the most popular items sold on sites like Gumtree. But it’s estimated that only 29 per cent of women prefer to buy these second hand / pre-loved items.

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